Biggest Loser Turlock begins a new 12-Week Individuals Challenge on January 7, 2014! You’re making a commitment to lose weight, and we’re looking forward to supporting you along the way. Check in on our blog often for weekly results, mini - challenges, and tips to help you stay on track and lead a healthy lifestyle!

Friday, March 18, 2011

What a Pound of Fat Looks Like!

Last week, Heather and I donned large backpacks filled with everything we needed to survive five days hiking through the Patagonian wilderness of Southern Chile. It was the first time either of us had attempted a trek hauling all of our own equipment – camping gear, food, clothes, and other supplies – and our packs weighed between 35 and 40 pounds each. By the end of the first day, our backs, shoulders, and hips were struggling from this extra weight. We thought back to a couple of years ago, when we were carrying this weight not on backpacks, but on our bodies as fat. How did we handle it?

How We Measure
Here at Calorie Count, we keep a number of interesting statistics on members’ weight loss, which you can follow on our statistics page. To date, a combined total of nearly 2.5 million pounds have been lost. Of course, we can measure weight loss in ways other than just pounds, stones, and kilograms. Think about it this way – Calorie Counters have lost the equivalent weight of 158 adult elephants, or 17 Boeing 737 aircraft, or 5.4 Statues of Liberty!

These numbers are certainly impressive, though it can be equally powerful and inspiring to apply the same concept to your personal weight loss progress. Have you lost (or do you need to lose) the equivalent of a gallon of water, or a bowling ball, or a large bag of rice? Imagine seeing and feeling these objects. You might be surprised by how large and heavy they are.

Oprah’s Fat Wagon
Of all the countless times spent publicly discussing her weight loss struggles, one remains unforgettable – in fact, it was the highest ranking “Oprah” episode ever. In 1988, after spending four months on a liquid crash diet, Oprah shocked the nation when she stepped on stage wearing skinny jeans and pulling a red wagon filled with 67 pounds of animal lard, symbolizing the weight she had lost. While she later fell off the wagon and gained it all back, this dramatic moment remains one of the most memorable from her 25 years of broadcasting.

Pounds of Potatoes
It’s not too practical for most of us to haul around a wagon full of fat – luckily, there are plenty of other ways we can measure, compare, and commemorate those pounds lost.

Next time you’re in the supermarket, pick up a 4-pack of butter (1 lb), or a 2-liter soda bottle (5 lbs), or a bag of potatoes (10 lbs), or a bag of dog food (15 lbs). Seeing and feeling these objects are a reminder of the strain we put on our bodies when we are overweight. If you’ve already lost a similar amount of weight, this can be a real motivator, especially if you haven’t noticed any visual changes to your body yet.

How Much Have We Lost?

As of week TWELVE of this challenge we have lost a total of 444 pounds

Weekly Participant Results after week TWELVE

Carlson, Deanne

-2.2%

Carlson, Larry

-2.9%

Case, Brian

-2.8%

Dahlquist, Darla

-9.5%

DeHart, Jenny

0.0%

Fair, Jake

-12.9%

Fann, Kim

-1.5%

Fann, Kirstynn

0.0%

Jenkins, Emmanuel

-16.2%

Levy, Dianna

-6.9%

McKay, Ashley

-10.2%

McKay, Heather

-12.2%

McKay, Phil

-22.3%

Mello, Gina

-6.9%

Santoro, Tiffany

-4.8%

Stepanovich, David

-23.1%

Uliana, Gina

-1.7%

Uliana, Ronna

-0.5%

Vasquez, LaLa

0.0%

Willey, Laura

-16.6%

Biggest Loser Turlock: RULES

1. The contest is 12 weeks long, beginning TUESDAY, January 7, 2014 with a final weigh-in on TUESDAY, April 1, 2014. The cost to enter this competition is $30... $25 of which goes in the grand prize pot, and $5 of which covers administrative costs and weekly incentives.

2. The winner of the contest is the person with the highest % of weight loss at the end of the 12 week period. This number will be figured by taking the total amount of weight you’ve lost and dividing it by your first weigh-in.

3. You must commit to weigh-in every Monday night between the hours of 4:00pm-6:00pm. We will track your weight loss during these weigh-ins and this weekly check-in will keep you accountable. Weigh-ins are at the following address:

Monte Vista Chapel

corner of Berkeley & Monte Vista

1619 E. Monte Vista Ave. Turlock

4. Prizes: There will be prize winnings for the top 5 Losers. The Grand Prize will be 50% of the grand prize pot, with the remaining 50% divided out to the 4 runner ups (20%, 15%, 10%, 5%). (If the grand prize pot is $2000, the Grand Prize winner will receive $1000, with the remaining $1000 divide between 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place finishers.)

5. Penalties: You will pay a $5 penalty into a separate prize pot on Monday night if you failed to show up to weigh-in the previous Monday night. Also, you will pay $1 into the same prize pot for every lb. that you gain throughout the competition. Any weight gain gets rounded UP to the nearest lb. (If this week I weight 175 and next Tuesday I weigh 175.6, I will pay a $1 penalty into the prize pot) In the event that we have more than 100 participants, this separate prize pot will be used for payment of our 5th-10th place Losers. If we have fewer than 100 participants, this money will be added to the main prize pot for 1st-5th place.

6. Each participant will have a private folder that will contain their beginning measurements as well as their weekly weigh-in chart. This information is held in strict confidence and no one besides the participant or the administrative help will have permission to view these folders. Each week you will be told at weigh-in your lbs lost for the week, and lbs lost challenge to date.

7. Each week we will update our blog (http://BLTurlock.blogspot.com) with the current challenge standings. We will list the standings in the following way:

• We will list the names and % lost for the current TOP 10 in order from 1st-10th position.

• If you are not in the current top 10, your name will be listed alphabetically with your % lost next to it.

You may choose to have your name omitted from the alphabetical list if you prefer your % NOT be made public*. However, if your % places you in one of the TOP 10 slots, your % WILL be made public so that others know the numbers to beat.

*To have your results omitted from the e-mail standings, please mark that option on your weigh-in sheet. You can also e-mail me at ohiobuckfan@sbcglobal.net at any point in the challenge to request this.

In addition to the current standings, the blog will also include healthy eating and fitness tips and info on occassional weekly incentives. You can subscribe to the blog by inserting your email address in the subspribe box found on the left hand side of the screen while on the blog, about 1/2 way down. If you subscribe, you will receive all posts via email.